Flying high: Take to the Dubai skies in an UberChopper

UberChopper with Alpha Tours in Dubai. Courtesy Uber

UberChopper, a helicopter service launched by app-based transport service Uber exclusively for Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, proved such a hit that the company is introducing aerial tours of Dubai, starting on Thursday, December 3.

UberChopper functioned “at 100 per cent capacity” during the three race days, says Chris Free, general manager of Uber UAE. Launched in association with Alpha Tours, a 20-minute flight from Dubai’s Atlantis, The Palm to Yas Island cost Dh2,250 per person.

“Every seat that we had available was full,” says Free. “It’s just a reflection of how excited people were to do this cool and interesting thing. The great thing was that we had a nice mix of residents and tourists using it.

“It gave people an opportunity to see parts of Dubai and Abu Dhabi that they haven’t seen before.”

The company had tested the UberChopper concept in New York and Cape Town, among other cities, before introducing it to the UAE, the first country in the Middle East to get it.

While Uber says it will consider running the service again during other events on a case-by-case basis, its next venture, UberTour, involves a 20-minute helicopter tour of Dubai.

Starting December 3 and running until the end of the year, the experience is available from 10am and 4.30pm. It begins with a safety briefing at The Atlantis helipad. Then passengers will take-off for a journey over Old Dubai, Downtown Dubai and the Marina. A ride booked for a group of six costs Dh530 per person, while individual seats cost Dh630.

“This won’t be a regular commute route but a tour of the city from the sky,” Free said. “We do this kind of stuff to show how innovative Uber is, and the ease of the platform.”

Uber Tour will be operated in the same way as the company’s car service, with bookings made through the app. Once the location is confirmed, a driver picks up customers for a door-to-door service.

Free says UberChopper caught on because of the convenience factor.

“The cool thing about Dubai is that people are very tech-savvy and forward thinking,” he says. “People also like the ease of how one tap of a button gives them a stylish ride.”

Dubai resident and blogger Karen McLean, who used UberChopper during the F1 weekend, says she would use it again.

“It was extremely easy,” she says. “It was really fun and a great way to see the UAE from above. I skipped the traffic, arrived in style and had something to brag to all my friends about.”

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